Chapter 6

Circular and Square Concrete Columns Externally

Confined by CFRP Composite: Experimental
Investigation and Effective Strength Models
Riad Benzaid and Habib-Abdelhak Mesbah
Additional information is available at the end of the chapter
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/51589

1. Introduction
The use of fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) jackets as an external mean to strengthen existing
RC columns has emerged in recent years with very promising results [1-13], among others.
Several studies on the performance of FRP wrapped columns have been conducted, using
both experimental and analytical approaches. Such strengthening technique has proved to
be very effective in enhancing their ductility and axial load capacity. However, the majority
of such studies have focused on the performance of columns of circular cross section. The
data available for columns of square or rectangular cross sections have increased over recent
years but are still limited. This field remains in its developmental stages and more testing
and analysis are needed to explore its capabilities, limitations, and design applicability. This
study deals with a series of tests on circular and square plain concrete (PC) and reinforced
concrete (RC) columns strengthened with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets.
According to the obtained test results, FRP-confined specimens failure occurs before the
FRP reached their ultimate strain capacities. So the failure occurs prematurely and the cir
cumferential failure strain was lower than the ultimate strain obtained from standard tensile
testing of the FRP composite. In existing models for FRP-confined concrete, it is commonly
assumed that the FRP ruptures when the hoop stress in the FRP jacket reaches its tensile
strength from either flat coupon tests which is herein referred to as the FRP material tensile
strength. This phenomenon considerably affects the accuracy of the existing models for FRPconfined concrete. On the basis of the effective lateral confining pressure of composite jacket
and the effective circumferential FRP failure strain a new equations were proposed to pre
dict the strength of FRP-confined concrete and corresponding strain for each of the cross sec
tion geometry used, circular and square. The predictions of the proposed equations are

2013 Benzaid and Mesbah; licensee InTech. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the
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shown to agree well with test data. The specimen notations are as follows. The first letter
refers to section shape: C for circular and S for square. The next two letters indicate the type
of concrete: PC for plain concrete and RC for reinforced concrete, followed by the concrete
mixture: I for normal strength (26 MPa), II for medium strength (50 MPa) and III for high
strength (62 MPa). The last letters specifies the number of CFRP layers (0L, 1L and 3L), fol
lowed by the number of specimen.

2. Observed Behaviour of FRP Confined Concrete

2.1. FRP-Confined Concrete in Circular Columns
The confinement action exerted by the FRP on the concrete core is of the passive type, that
is, it arises as a result of the lateral expansion of concrete under axial load. As the axial stress
increases, the corresponding lateral strain increases and the confining device develops a ten
sile hoop stress balanced by a uniform radial pressure which reacts against the concrete lat
eral expansion [14,15]. When an FRP confined cylinder is subject to axial compression, the
concrete expands laterally and this expansion is restrained by the FRP. The confining action
of the FRP composite for circular concrete columns is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Confinement action of FRP jacket in circular sections

For circular columns, the concrete is subject to uniform confinement, and the maximum con
fining pressure provided by FRP composite is related to the amount and strength of FRP
and the diameter of the confined concrete core. The maximum value of the confinement
pressure that the FRP can exert is attained when the circumferential strain in the FRP reach
es its ultimate strain and the fibers rupture leading to brittle failure of the cylinder. This con
fining pressure is given by:
fl=

2t frp E frp fu 2t frp f

=
d
d

frp

frp f
2

frp

(1)

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Where fl is the lateral confining pressure, Efrp is the elastic modulus of the FRP composite, fu
is the ultimate FRP tensile strain, ffrp is the ultimate tensile strength of the FRP composite, tfrp
is the total thickness of the FRP, d is the diameter of the concrete cylinder, and frp is the FRP
volumetric ratio given by the following equation for fully wrapped circular cross section:
frp =

d t frp

d 2/4

4t frp
d

(2)

2.2. FRP-Confined Concrete in Square Columns

A square column with rounded corners is shown in Figure 2. To improve the effectiveness
of FRP confinement, corner rounding is generally recommended. Due to the presence of in
ternal steel reinforcement, the corner radius Rc is generally limited to small values. Existing
studies on steel confined concrete [16-18] have led to the simple proposition that the con
crete in a square section is confined by the transverse reinforcement through arching ac
tions, and only the concrete contained by the four second-degree parabolas as shown in
Figure 2a is fully confined while the confinement to the rest is negligible. These parabolas
intersect the edges at 45. While there are differences between steel and FRP in providing
confinement, the observation that only part of the section is well confined is obviously also
valid in the case of FRP confinement. Youssef et al. (2007) [19] showed that confining square
concrete members with FRP materials tends to produce confining stress concentrated
around the corners of such members, as shown in Figure 2b. The reduced effectiveness of an
FRP jacket for a square section than for a circular section has been confirmed by experimen
tal results [2,20]. Despite this reduced effectiveness, an FRP-confined square concrete col
umn generally also fails by FRP rupture [9,20]. In Equation (1), d is replaced by the diagonal
length of the square section. For a square section with rounded corners, d can be written as:
d = 2b 2Rc ( 2 1)

Figure 2. Confinement action of FRP composite in square sections

(3)

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3. Different Behaviour Between Steel and FRP Composite

It is well known that concrete expands laterally before failure. If the lateral expansion is pre
vented, a substantial concrete strength and deformation enhancements may be gained.
Thus, the expected enhancement in the axial load capacity of the columns wrapped with
FRP may be due to two factors; first: the confinement effect of the externally bonded trans
verse fibers, and second: the direct contribution of longitudinally aligned fibers. Different
behaviour between steel and FRP composite was observed due to the stress-strain relation
ship of each material shown in Figure 3. Fiber-reinforced polymer is linear elastic up to final
brittle rupture when subject to tension while steel has an elastic-plastic region [21]. This is a
very important property in terms of structural use of FRP composite. A part from illustrat
ing typical strength differences between these materials, these curves give a clear contrast
between the brittle behaviour of FRP composite and the ductile behaviour of steel. Steel con
finement is based on the same mechanics of FRP. However, a fundamental difference is due
to the stress-strain behaviour of steel, which after the initial linearly elastic phase displays
the yielding plateau. Therefore, after reaching the maximum value corresponding to the
yielding stress, the confinement pressure remains constant (neglecting strain hardening).

Figure 3. Typical FRP and mild-steel stress-strain curves [21]

4. Experimental Program
4.1. Materials Properties
Concrete mixtures : Three concrete mixtures were used to achieve the desired range of uncon
fined concrete strength (26, 50 and 62 MPa), as shown in Table 1. Mixtures were prepared in
the laboratory using a mechanical mixer and were used to cast the concrete specimens
which were wrapped with CFRP sheets after drying.

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CFRP composites : The carbon-fiber fabric used in this study were the SikaWrap-230C/45
product, a unidirectional wrap. The resin system that was used to bond the carbon fabrics
over the specimens in this work was the epoxy resin made of two-parts, resin and hardener.
The mixing ratio of the two components by weight was 4:1. SikaWrap-230C/45 was field
laminated using Sikadur-330 epoxy to form a carbon fiber reinforced polymer wrap (CFRP)
used to strengthen the concrete specimens. The mechanical properties, including the modu
lus and the tensile strength of the CFRP composite, were obtained through tensile testing of
flat coupons. The tensile tests were conducted essentially following the NF EN ISO 527-(1, 2
and 5) recommendations. The tensile specimen configuration is represented in Figure 3a. All
of the tests coupons were allowed to cure in the laboratory environment for at least 7 days.
Prior to the testing, aluminum plates were glued to the ends of the coupons to avoid prema
ture failure of the coupon ends, which were clamped in the jaws of the testing machine. The
tests were carried out under displacement control at a rate of 1mm/min. The longitudinal
strains were measured using strain gages at mid-length of the test coupon. The load and
strain readings were taken using a data logging system and were stored in a computer.
Main mechanical properties obtained from the average values of the tested coupons are
summarized below:
- Thickness (per ply) : 1 mm
- Modulus Efrp : 34 GPa
- Tensile strength ffrp : 450 MPa
- Ultimate strain fu : 14
Note that the tensile strength was defined based on the cross-sectional area of the coupons,
while the elastic modulus was calculated from the stress-strain response.

4.2. Fabrication of Test Specimens

The experimental program was carried out on: 1) cylindrical specimens with a diameter of
160 mm and a height of 320 mm; 2) short columns specimens with a square cross section of
140x140 mm and a height of 280 mm. For all RC specimens the diameter of longitudinal and
transverse reinforcing steel bars were respectively 12 mm and 8 mm. The longitudinal steel
ratio was constant for all specimens and equal to 2.25%.The yield strength of the longitudi
nal and transversal reinforcement was 500 MPa and 235 MPa; respectively. The specimen
notations are as follows. The first letter refers to section shape: C for circular and S for
square. The next two letters indicate the type of concrete: PC for plain concrete and RC for
reinforced concrete, followed by the concrete mixture: I for normal strength (26 MPa), II for
medium strength (50 MPa) and III for high strength (62 MPa). The last letters specifies the
number of CFRP layers (0L, 1L and 3L), followed by the number of specimen. Specimens in
volved in the experimental work are indicated in Table 1.

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Specimen

Concrete

Nominal

Number of

Number of

Unconfined concrete

designation

mixture

dimensions [mm] CFRP layers

specimens

strength [MPa]

CPCI.0L

CPCI.1L

CRCI.0L

CRCI.1L

CRCI.3L

SPCI.0L

SPCI.1L

SRCI.0L

SRCI.1L

SRCI.3L

CPCII.0L

CRCII.0L

CRCII.1L

CRCII.3L

SPCII.0L

SPCII.1L

CPCI.3L

SPCI.3L

160 x 320

140x140x280

CPCII.1L
CPCII.3L

SPCII.3L

II

SRCII.0L

SRCII.1L

SRCII.3L

CPCIII.0L

CPCIII.1L

CPCIII.3L

II

160 x 320

CRCIII.0L

CRCIII.1L

CRCIII.3L

SPCIII.0L

SPCIII.1L

SRCIII.0L

SRCIII.1L

SRCIII.3L

SPCIII.3L

III

140x140x280

III

Table 1. Details of test specimens

160 x 320

140x140x280

26

50

62

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4.3. Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Wrapping

After 28 days of curing, the FRP jackets were applied to the specimens by hand lay-up of
CFRP Wrap with an epoxy resin. The resin system used in this work was made of two parts,
namely, resin and hardener. The components were thoroughly mixed with a mechanical agi
tator for at least 3 min. The concrete cylinders were cleaned and completely dried before the
resin was applied. The mixed Sikadur-330 epoxy resin was directly applied onto the sub
strate at a rate of 0,7 kg/m2. The fabric was carefully placed into the resin with gloved hands
and smooth out any irregularities or air pockets using a plastic laminating roller. The roller
was continuously used until the resin was reflected on the surface of the fabric, an indication
of fully wetting. After the application of the first wrap of the CFRP, a second layer of resin at
a rate of 0,5 kg/m2 was applied on the surface of the first layer to allow the impregnation of
the second layer of the CFRP, The third layer is made in the same way. Finally, a layer of
resin was applied on the surface of wrapped cylinders. This system is a passive type in that
tensile stress in the FRP is gradually developed as the concrete dilates. This expansion is
confined by the FRP jacket, which is loaded in tension in the hoop direction. Each layer was
wrapped around the cylinder with an overlap of of the perimeter to avoid sliding or de
bonding of fibers during tests and to ensure the development of full composite strength
(Figure 4). The wrapped cylinder specimens were left at room temperature for 1 week for
the epoxy to harden adequately before testing.

Figure 4. Wrapped cylinder specimens

4.4. Test Procedures

Specimens were loaded under a monotonic uni-axial compression load up to failure. The com
pressive load was applied at a rate corresponding to 0,24 MPa/s and was recorded with an
automatic data acquisition system. Axial and lateral strains were measured using apprecia
ble extensometer. The instrumentation included one radial linear variable differential trans
ducers (LVDTs) placed in the form of a hoop at the mid-height of the specimens. Measurement
devices also included three vertical LVDTs to measure the average axial strains. Prior to test
ing, all CFRP-wrapped cylinders, as well as the plain concrete cylinders, were capped with
sulfur mortar at both ends.The test setup for the cylinders is as shown in Figure 5.

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Figure 5. Test set-up

5. Test Results and Discussion

5.1. Overall Behavior
Compression behavior of the CFRP wrapped specimens was mostly similar in each series in
terms of stress-strain curves and failure modes of the columns. From the average experi
mental results reported in Table 2, it can be seen that the increase in strength and axial strain
varied according to the unconfined concrete strength, the cross section shape and the
amount of confinement provided by CFRP (expressed in number of layers).
The test results described in Table 2 indicate that CFRP-confinemnt can significantly en
hance the ultimate strengths and strains of both plain- and RC-columns. As observed for
normal-strength RC specimens (26Mpa) with circular and square cross-sections, the average
increase in strength were in the order of 69% and 22% over its unconfined concrete strength
for columns with 1 layer, 141% and 46% for columns with 3 layers of CFRP jackets, respec
tively, while the respective values for medium-strength concrete (50 MPa) were 33% and
17% for 1 layer, 72% and 30% for 3 layers of CFRP jackets. Regarding high-strength concrete
specimens (62 MPa) with circular and square cross-sections, fcc, increased on average 20%
and 17% for 1 layer, 50% and 24% for CFRP jackets of 3 layers, respectively.
The axial strains corresponding to CFRP-confined columns (cc), for the normal-strength RC
specimens with circular and square cross-sections, were on average 4.06 and 1.41 times that
of unconfined concrete (co) for 1 layer, 6.09 and 1.95 times for 3 layers of CFRP jackets, re
spectively, while the respective values for medium-strength concrete were 2.76 and 1.32

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times for 1 layer, 4.49 and 1.69 times for 3 layers. For high-strength concrete specimens with
circular and square cross-sections, cc, increased 1.39 and 1.03 times for 1 layer, 2.29 and 1.37
times for CFRP jackets of 3 layers, respectively.
Figure 6 shows the increase in compressive strength versus the unconfined concrete strength
fco for plain and RC columns confined with one and three layers of CFRP wrap. It is evident
that as the unconfined concrete strength increases, the confinement effectiveness decreases.
The FRP-wrapped cylinders with the least fco (26 MPa) show the maximum increases in con
fined strength fcc. Figure 7 shows the effect of fco on the peak strain cc of the confined con
crete. Test results clearly showed that the confinement effectiveness reduces with an
increase in the unconfined concrete strength for both circular and square columns and
strength enhancement was more significant for circular columns than for square ones. This
is due to the concentration of stresses at the corner of the square section and consequently to
the lower confining pressure and smaller effective confined concrete core area.
Compared to the FRP-confinement-effectiveness, the confinement provided by the mini
mum transverse reinforcing steel required by Eurocode 2 led to a limited enhancement in
both compressive strength and axial strain with respect to plain concrete specimens. With
the exception of SRCI.0L specimens, where its presence contributed to a significant increase
in the prism load carrying capacity and ductility as shown in Figures 6 and 7.

Figure 6. Effect of unconfined strength of concrete on peak stresses

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Concrete

Specimen f'co

mixture

Code
CPCI.0L
CPCI.1L

25.93

CPCI.3L
I (26MPa)

CRCI.0L
CRCI.1L

fcc

fcc/fco

[MPa] [MPa]

29.51

CRCI.3L
CPCII.0L

cc

cc/ co

[]

h,rup

h,rup/ ho

[]

25.93

1.00

2.73

1.00

1.77

1.00

39.63

1.52

12.78

4.68

13.12

7.41

66.14

2.55

15.16

5.55

13.18

7.44

29.51

1.00

3.77

1.00

4.95

1.00

49.88

1.69

15.34

4.06

13.15

2.65

71.35

2.41

22.98

6.09

13.24

2.67

49.46

1.00

1.69

1.00

1.33

1.00

52.75

1.06

2.52

1.49

2.90

2.18

CPCII.3L

82.91

1.67

7.27

4.30

13.15

9.88

II (50MPa) CRCII.0L

58.24

1.00

3.02

1.00

5.05

1.00

CPCII.1L

CRCII.1L

49.46

77.51

1.33

8.36

2.76

13.16

2.60

CRCII.3L

100.41

1.72

13.58

4.49

13.18

2.61

CPCIII.0L

61.81

1.00

2.64

1.00

2.40

1.00

CPCIII.1L

58.24

62.68

1.01

3.04

1.15

2.46

1.02

CPCIII.3L

93.19

1.50

9.80

3.71

12.89

5.37

III (62MPa) CRCIII.0L

63.01

1.00

2.69

1.00

4.90

1.00

CRCIII.1L

61.81

76.21

1.20

3.75

1.39

5.20

1.06

CRCIII.3L

94.81

1.50

6.18

2.29

5.62

1.14

SPCI.0L

24.77

1.00

2.17

1.00

3.62

1.00

27.66

1.11

5.58

2.57

12.23

3.37

SPCI.3L

32.03

1.29

6.05

2.78

13.23

3.65

SRCI.0L

33.59

1.00

4.29

1.00

9.38

1.00

41.02

1.22

6.08

1.41

11.58

1.23

SRCI.3L

49.12

1.46

8.40

1.95

14.38

1.53

SPCII.0L

48.53

1.00

3.38

1.00

3.83

1.00

52.52

1.08

4.03

1.19

7.34

1.91

SPCII.3L

58.25

1.20

6.72

1.98

9.88

2.57

II (50MPa) SRCII.0L

52.82

1.00

4.07

1.00

7.50

1.00

62.04

1.17

5.41

1.32

8.56

1.14

69.09

1.30

6.89

1.69

10.83

1.44

59.53

1.00

3.56

1.00

3.89

1.00

61.30

1.02

3.69

1.03

3.97

1.02

70.35

1.18

4.94

1.38

6.69

1.71

63.79

1.00

3.75

1.00

5.71

1.00

74.84

1.17

3.87

1.03

5.74

1.01

79.59

1.24

5.14

1.37

7.96

1.39

SPCI.1L

I (26MPa)

SRCI.1L

SPCII.1L

SRCII.1L

63.01

24.77

33.59

48.53

52.82

SRCII.3L
SPCIII.0L
SPCIII.1L

59.53

SPCIII.3L
III (62MPa) SRCIII.0L
SRCIII.1L
SRCIII.3L

63.79

Table 2. Mean-values of experimental results of CFRP-wrapped specimens

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5.2. Stress-Strain Response

Representative stress-strain curves for each series of tested CFRP-wrapped specimens are re
ported in Figure 8 for normal-strength concrete (26 MPa), Figure 9 for medium-strength con
crete (50 MPa) and in Figure 10 for high-strength concrete (62 MPa). These figures give the
axial stress versus the axial and lateral strains for circular and square specimens with zero,
one and three layers of CFRP wrap. It can be clearly noticed that both the stress and strain at
failure for the confined specimens were higher than those for unconfned ones. These figures
shows also how the ductility of the concrete specimens was affected by the increase of the
degree of confinement.

Figure 7. Effect of unconfined strength of concrete on peak strains

The obtained stress-strain curves which characterize the CFRP confined concrete are mostly
bilinear. The first zone is essentially a linear response governed by the stiffness of the uncon
fined concrete, which indicates that no confinement is activated in the CFRP wraps since the
lateral strains in the concrete are very small. The strengthening effect of the CFRP layers be
gins only after the concrete has reached the peak strength of the unconfined concrete: trans
versal strains in the concrete activate the FRP jacket. In this region little increases of load
produce large lateral expansions, and consequently a higher confining pressure. In the case
of circular sections the section is fully confined, therefore the second slope is positive, show

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ing the capacity of confining pressure to limit the effects of the deteriorated concrete core,
which allows reaching higher stresses. With this type of stress-strain curves (the increasing
type), both the compressive strength and the ultimate strain are reached at the same point
and are significantly enhanced. Instead in the cases of square sections (sharp edges) with a
small amount of FRP, the peak stress is similar to that of unconfined concrete, indicating the
fact that the confining action is mostly limited at the corners, producing a confining pressure
not sufficient to overcome the effect of concrete degradation. Otherwise with low levels of
confinement (one CFRP layer), the second part of the bilinear curve shifts from strain hard
ening to a flat plateau, and eventually to a sudden strain softening with a drastically re
duced ductility.
From the trends shown in Figures 8, 9 and 10, it is clear that, unlike normal strength con
crete, in medium- to high- strength concrete, confining the specimens with one CFRP layer
does not significantly change the stress-strain behavior of confined concrete from that of un
confined concrete except for a limited increase in compressive strength. In that case the
stress-strain curve terminates at a stress fcu (stress in concrete at the ultimate strain) < fco, the
specimen is said to be insufficiently confined. Such case should not be allowed in design.

Figure 8. Experimental stress strain curves of normal-strength concrete specimens (26 MPa)

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Figure 9. Experimental stress strain curves of medium-strength concrete specimens (50 MPa)

5.3. Failure Modes

Figure 11 illustrate the failure modes for circular and square columns wrapped with CFRP
sheets. All the CFRP-wrapped cylinders failed by the rupture of the FRP jacket due to hoop
tension. The CFRP-confined specimens failed in a sudden and explosive manner and were
only preceded by some snapping sounds. Many hoop sections formed as the CFRP rup
tured. These hoops were either concentrated in the central zone of the specimen or distribut
ed over the entire height. The wider the hoop, the greater the section of concrete that
remained attached to the inside faces of the delaminated CFRP. Regarding confined concrete
prisms, failure initiated at or near a corner, because of the high stress concentration at these
locations. Collapse occured almost without advance warning by sudden rupture of the com
posite wrap. For all confined specimens, delamination was not observed at the overlap loca
tion of the jacket, which confirmed the adequate stress transfer over the splice.

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Figure 10. Experimental stress strain curves of high-strength concrete specimens (62 MPa)

Figure 11. Typical failure modes for the tested specimens

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6. Model of FRP-Confined Concrete

6.1. Circular Columns
6.1.1. Compressive Strength of FRP-Confined Concrete
Various models for confinement of concrete with FRP have been developed. The majority of
these models were performed on plain concrete specimens tests. A limited number of tests
have been reported in the literature on the axial compressive strength and strain of rein
forced-concrete specimens confined with FRP. Most of the existing strength models for FRPconfined concrete adopted the concept of Richart et al. (1929) [22], in which the strength at
failure for concrete confined by hydrostatic fluid pressure takes the following form:
f 'cc = f 'co + k1. f l

(4)

Where fcc and fco are the compressive strength of confined and the unconfined concrete re
spectively, fl is the lateral confining pressure and k1 is the confinement effectiveness coeffi
cient. In applying their model to steel-confined concrete, Richart et al. (1929) [22] assumed
that k1 is a constant equal to 4.1. However, several studies revealed that existing models for
the axial compressive strength of steel-confined concrete are unconservative and cannot be
used for FRP-confined concrete (see: [6,21,23-27]; among others). Many authors have raised
towards the steel-based confinement models the objection that they do not account for the
profound difference in uniaxial tensile stress-strain behavior between steel and FRP. Ac
cording to these authors, while the assumption of constant confining pressure is still realistic
in the case of steel confinement in the yield phase, it cannot be extended to FRP materials
which do not exhibit any yielding and therefore apply on the concrete core a continuously
increasing inward pressure. However, a number of strength models have been proposed
specifically for FRP-confined concrete which employ Equation (4) with modified expres
sions for k1 (e.g. [6,7,23-25,27-36]). Most of these models used a constant value for k1 (be
tween 2 and 3.5) indicating that the experimental data available in the literature show a
linear relationship between the strength of confined concrete fcc and the lateral confining
pressure fl ([7,29,31-37]). Other researchers expressed k1 in nonlinear form in terms of fl/fco or
fl [6,23-25,27,28,30].
FRP Circumferential Failure Strain
According to the obtained test results, cylinder failure occurs before the FRP reached their
ultimate strain capacities fu. So the failure occurs prematurely and the circumferential fail
ure strain was lower than the ultimate strain obtained from standard tensile testing of the
FRP composite. This phenomenon considerably affects the accuracy of the existing models
for FRP-confined concrete. Referring to Table 3, for example, the rupture of the lowstrength-cylinder IRCC.2.3L corresponded to a maximum composite extension (circumfer
ential failure strain) h,rup of 12.42 which is lower than the ultimate composite strain fu (14

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Fiber Reinforced Polymers - The Technology Applied for Concrete Repair

) as it represent about 88 % of it. This reduction in the strain of the FRP composites can be
attributed to several causes as reported in related literature [6,33,38]:
- The curved shape of the composite wrap or misalignment of fibers may reduce the FRP
axial strength;
- Near failure the concrete is internally cracked resulting in non-homogeneous deforma
tions. Due to this non-homogeneous deformations and high loads applied on the cracked
concrete, local stress concentrations may occur in the FRP reinforcement.

Concrete

Specimen code

fu ()

h.rup. ()

h.rup. /fu

CRCI.1L.1

14

13.15

0.939

CRCI.1L.2

14

13.16

0.940

CRCI.3L.1

14

14.06

1.004

CRCI.3L.2

14

12.42

0.887

CPCI.1L.1

14

13.12

0.937

CPCI.3L.1

14

13.18

0.941

CRCII.1L.1

14

13.17

0.940

CRCII.1L.2

14

13.16

0.940

CRCII.3L.1

14

13.20

0.942

CRCII.3L.2

14

13.17

0.940

CPCII.1L.1

14

2.90

0.207

CPCII.3L.1

14

13.15

0.939

CRCIII.1L.1

14

7.79

0.556

CRCIII.1L.2

14

2.61

0.186

CRCIII.3L.1

14

4.10

0.292

CRCIII.3L.2

14

7.15

0.510

CPCIII.1L.1

14

2.46

0.175

CPCIII.3L.1

14

12.89

0.920

mixture

I (26 MPa)

II (50 MPa)

III (62 MPa)

Table 3. Average hoop rupture strain ratios (circular specimens)

Effective FRP Strain Coefficient

In existing models for FRP-confined concrete, it is commonly assumed that the FRP ruptures
when the hoop stress in the FRP jacket reaches its tensile strength from either flat coupon
tests which is herein referred to as the FRP material tensile strength. This assumption is the

Circular and Square Concrete Columns Externally Confined by CFRP Composite

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/51589

basis for calculating the maximum confining pressure fl (the confining pressure reached
when the FRP ruptures) given by Equation (1). The confinement ratio of an FRP-confined
specimen is defined as the ratio of the maximum confining pressure to the unconfined con
crete strength (fl/fco).
However, experimental results show that, the FRP material tensile strength was not reached
at the rupture of FRP in FRP-confined concrete. Table 4 provides the average ratios between
the measured circumferential strain at FRP rupture (h,rup) and the ultimate tensile strain of
the FRP material (fu). It is seen that, when all circular specimens of the present study are
considered together, the average ratio (h,rup/fu) has a value closer to 0.73 and is referred to,
in this paper, as the effective FRP strain coefficient . Thus, the maximum confining pres
sure given by Equation (1) can be considered as a nominal value. The effective maximum
lateral confining pressure is given by:
f l ,eff =

2t frp E frp h ,rup 2t frp E frp fu

=
= f l
d
d

(5)

Table 3 indicates that the assumption that the FRP ruptures when the stress in the jacket
reaches the FRP material tensile strength is invalid for concrete confined by FRP wraps.
Proposed Equation
A simple equation is proposed to predict the peak strength of FRP-confined concrete of dif
ferent unconfined strengths based on regression of test data reported in Table 4. Figure 12
shows the relation between actual confinement ratio fl,eff/ fco and the strengthening ratio fcc/
fco for the cylinders of the test series. It can be seen that, strengthening ratio is proportional
to the volumetric ratio and the strength of FRP (in terms of effective lateral confining pres
sure fl,eff) and is inversely proportional to unconfined concrete strength. Therefore the rela
tionship may be approximated by a linear function. The trend line of these test data can be
closely approximated using the following equation:
f 'cc
f l ,eff
= 1 + 2.20
f 'co
f 'co

(6)

Using a reduction factor of 0.73 with the replacement of fl,eff by fl into Equation (6) the ulti
mate axial compressive strength of FRP-confined concrete takes the form:
f 'cc
fl
= 1 + 1.60
f 'co
f 'co

(7)

Figure 13 is a plot of the strengthening ratio fcc/ fco against the confinement ratio fl /fco. The
trend line of this figure shows a much greater average confinement effectiveness coefficient
k1. This can be attributed to the effect of the effective lateral confining pressure.

183

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Fiber Reinforced Polymers - The Technology Applied for Concrete Repair

Specimen f'co

tcfrp

Ecfrp

fu

h.rup.

fl / f'co

fl.eff / f'co

f'cc / f'co co

cc / co

code

(Mpa) (mm) (Gpa) ()

()

CRCI.1L.1

29.51 1

34

14

13.15

0.201

0.189

1.714

3.77

4.225

CRCI.1L.2

29.51 1

34

14

13.16

0.201

0.189

1.666

3.77

3.912

CRCI.3L.1

29.51 3

34

14

14.06

0.604

0.607

2.400

3.77

5.893

CRCI.3L.2

29.51 3

34

14

12.42

0.604

0.536

2.435

3.77

6.297

CPCI.1L.1

25.93 1

34

14

13.12

0.229

0.215

1.528

2.73

4.681

CPCI.3L.1

25.93 3

34

14

13.18

0.688

0.648

2.550

2.73

5.553

CRCII.1L.1

58.24 1

34

14

13.17

0.102

0.096

1.302

3.02

2.440

CRCII.1L.2

58.24 1

34

14

13.16

0.102

0.096

1.359

3.02

3.096

CRCII.3L.1

58.24 3

34

14

13.20

0.306

0.288

1.742

3.02

4.543

CRCII.3L.2

58.24 3

34

14

13.17

0.306

0.288

1.705

3.02

4.450

CPCII.1L.1

49.46 1

34

14

2.90

0.120

0.024

1.066

1.69

1.491

CPCII.3L.1

49.46 3

34

14

13.15

0.360

0.338

1.676

1.69

4.301

CRCIII.1L.1

63.01 1

34

14

7.79

0.094

0.052

1.237

2.69

1.706

CRCIII.1L.2

63.01 1

34

14

2.61

0.094

0.017

1.181

2.69

1.081

CRCIII.3L.1

63.01 3

34

14

4.10

0.283

0.082

1.506

2.69

1.438

CRCIII.3L.2

63.01 3

34

14

7.15

0.283

0.144

1.503

2.69

3.156

CPCIII.1L.1

61.81 1

34

14

2.46

0.096

0.016

1.014

2.64

1.151

CPCIII.3L.1

61.81 3

34

14

12.89

0.288

0.265

1.507

2.64

3.711

Table 4. Data and results of CFRP wrapped cylinders

Figure 12. Strengthening ratio vs. actual confinement ratio

()

Circular and Square Concrete Columns Externally Confined by CFRP Composite

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/51589

Figure 13. Strengthening ratio vs. confinement ratio

6.1.2. Axial Strain of FRP-Confined Concrete

Early investigation showed that for steel confined concrete, the axial compressive strain cc
at the peak axial stress can be related to the lateral confining pressure [22] by:

cc = co 1 + k2

fl
f 'co

(8)

Where co is the axial strain of the unconfined concrete at its peak stress and k2 is the strain
enhancement coefficient. Richart et al. (1929) [22] suggested k2 = 5 k1 for steel-confined con
crete. For FRP-confined concrete, many studies suggested that ultimate axial strain can also
be related to the lateral confining pressure (e.g. [3,6,15,28,33,36,37,39]). In literature, some
methods for predicting the ultimate strain of FRP-confined concrete cylinders have been
proposed. Existing models can be classified into three categories as follows:
(a) Steel-based confined models (e.g. [1, 40]), Saadatmanesh et al. (1994) [1] assumed that:

cc
f 'cc
= 1+ 5
1
co
f 'co

(9)

where co is the strain in peak stress of unconfined concrete and cc is axial strain at peak
stress of the FRP-confined concrete.
(b) Empirical or analytical models (e.g. [10,21,24,29,30,36,39,41]), Teng et al. (2002) [21] pro
posed:
- For CFRP wrapped concrete:

( )

cc
fl
= 2+ 15
co
f 'co

(10)

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Fiber Reinforced Polymers - The Technology Applied for Concrete Repair

- For design use:

( )

cc
fl
= 1.75+ 10
co
f 'co

(11)

(c) Recently, some models for predicting the axial stress and strain of FRP-confined concrete
were suggested based on numerical method or plasticity analysis (e.g. [42,46]), whereas
these models are often not suitable for direct use in design.
Proposed Equation
Figure 14 shows the relation between the strain enhancement ratio and the actual confine
ment ratio of the present test data. A linear relationship clearly exists. This diagram indi
cates that the axial strain of FRP-confined concrete can be related linearly to the actual
confinement ratio. Based on regression of test data reported in Table 5, the axial strain of
CFRP-wrapped concrete can be approximated by the following expression:

( )

cc
f l ,eff
= 2+ 7.6
co
f 'co

(12)

Replacing fl,eff by fl into Equation (12) the axial strain of FRP-confined concrete takes the
form:

( )

cc
fl
= 2+ 5.55
co
f 'co

Given that cc for concrete sufficiently confined by FRP is the ultimate strain cu.

Figure 14. Strain enhancement ratio vs. actual confinement ratio

(13)

Circular and Square Concrete Columns Externally Confined by CFRP Composite

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/51589

Figure 15. Strengthening ratio vs. confinement ratio and strain enhancement ratio vs. confinement ratio for the test
results of this work

6.1.3. Validation of the Proposed Model

Using above model, the compressive strength and axial strain of FRP-confined specimens
collected from other studies [6,36,47,48] were predicted as shown in Tables 5 and 6 which
clearly exhibits excellent agreement between the experimental and predicted results. The
present model is more accurate in predcting the compressive strength but less accurate in
predicting the axial strain.
In Figure 15 the strengthening ratio-confinement ratio and the strain enhancement ratioconfinement ratio plots for the test results of this work (circular and square specimens) are
shown, together with their respective linear regressions. From these Figures, it can be seen
that the the axial confined compressive strength and the corresponding axial strain, approxi
mately, increase linearly with the increase in confining lateral pressure for all types of sec
tion geometry. There is also a great distinction between the tendency of the results obtained
for circular columns and those for square ones.

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Fiber Reinforced Polymers - The Technology Applied for Concrete Repair

Specimen code

FRP

f'co

Type

(Mpa) (Gpa) () (mm) (mm) (Mpa)

Efrp

fu

tfrp

fl

k1

f'cc.theo,

f'cc,exp,

(Mpa)

(Mpa) f'cc.exp.

f'cc.theo./

Matthys et al. (2005) [6]

k2

CFRP

32

198

11.9 0.585 400

6.891

1.6 43.027

54.30

0.792

k8

HFRP

32

120

9.6

0.492 400

2.833

1.6 36.534

44.40

0.822

Ilki et al. (2003) [47]

CYL-5-1

CFRP

6.2

230

15

0.825 150

37.950 1.6 66.920

87.70

0.763

CYL-5-2

CFRP

6.2

230

15

0.825 150

37.950 1.6 66.920

82.70

0.809

Lam et al. (2006) [48]

CI-M1

CFRP

41.1

250

15.2 0.165 152

8.250

1.6 54.300

52.60

1.032

CI-M3

CFRP

41.1

250

15.2 0.165 152

8.250

1.6 54.300

55.40

0.980

CII-M3

CFRP

38.9

247

15.2 0.33

152

16.302 1.6 64.983

65.80

0.987

Jiang et Teng (2007) [36]

36

CFRP

38

240.7 15

1.02

152

48.456 1.6 115.530

129

0.895

39

CFRP

38

240.7 15

1.36

152

64.608 1.6 141.374

158.5

0.891

40

CFRP

37.7

260

15

0.11

152

5.644

1.6 46.731

48.50

0.963

41

CFRP

37.7

260

15

0.11

152

5.644

1.6 46.731

50.30

0.929

42

CFRP

44.2

260

15

0.11

152

5.644

1.6 53.231

48.10

1.106

43

CFRP

44.2

260

15

0.11

152

5.644

1.6 53.231

51.10

1.041

45

CFRP

44.2

260

15

0.22

152

11.289 1.6 62.263

62.90

0.989

46

CFRP

47.6

250.5 15

0.33

152

16.315 1.6 73.704

82.70

0.891

Average: 0.926
Standard deviation: 0.101
Coefficient of variation (%): 10.90
Table 5. Comparison of experimental and predicted results: compressive strength

Circular and Square Concrete Columns Externally Confined by CFRP Composite

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/51589

Specimen

FRP

code

type

co

cc,exp

k2

cc, theo

cc,theo / cc,exp

Matthys et al. (2005) [6]

k2

CFRP

0.00280 0.0111 5.55

0.0089 0.806

k8

HFRP

0.00280 0.0059 5.55

0.0069 1.182

CYL-5-1

CFRP

0.00196 0.0910 5.55

0.0707 0.777

CYL-5-2

CFRP

0.00203 0.0940 5.55

0.0730 0.777

Ilki et al. (2003) [47]

Lam et al. (2006) [48]

CI-M1

CFRP

0.00256 0.0090 5.55

0.0079 0.885

CI-M3

CFRP

0.00256 0.0111 5.55

0.0079 0.718

CII-M3

CFRP

0.00256 0.0125 5.55

0.0110 0.885

Jiang et Teng (2007) [36]

36

CFRP

0.00217 0.0279 5.55

0.0196 0.704

39

CFRP

0.00217 0.0354 5.55

0.0248 0.700

40

CFRP

0.00275 0.0089 5.55

0.0077 0.869

41

CFRP

0.00275 0.0091 5.55

0.0077 0.851

42

CFRP

0.00260 0.0069 5.55

0.0070 1.019

43

CFRP

0.00260 0.0088 5.55

0.0070 0.793

45

CFRP

0.00260 0.0102 5.55

0.0088 0.866

46

CFRP

0.00279 0.0130 5.55

0.0108 0.834

Average:

0.845

Standard deviation:

0.125

Coefficient of variation (%):

14.80

Table 6. Comparison of experimental and predicted results: axial strain

6.2. Square Columns

6.2.1. Compressive Strength
The effective Lateral Confining Pressure
The effective lateral confining pressure f l can be defined as a function of the shape through
the use of a confinement effectiveness coefficient k e as:
f l = ke f l

(14)

189

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Fiber Reinforced Polymers - The Technology Applied for Concrete Repair

were fl is the lateral confining pressure provided by an FRP jacket and can be evaluated us
ing Equation (1), with the columns diameter d replaced by the diagonal length of the square
section. fl now becomes an equivalent confining pressure provided by the FRP jacket to an
equivalent circular columns. On the other hand, the effective FRP strain coefficient is de
fined as the ratio of the FRP tensile hoop strain at rupture in the square column tests (h,rup)
to the ultimate tensile strain from FRP tensile coupon tests (fu):
'=

h ,rup
fu

(15)

The effective FRP strain coefficient represents the degree of participation of the FRP jacket,
and the friction between concrete and FRP laminate. Type bond, geometry, FRP jacket thick
ness, and type of resin affect the effective FRP strain coefficient. From the experimental re
sults (Table 7), was 68 % on average for square bonded jackets.

Specimen

f'co

code

(Mpa) (mm) (Gpa) () ()

tcfrp

Ecfrp

fu

h,rup

fl / f'co fl,eff / f'co f'cc / f'co co

SRCI.1L.1

33.59

34

14

10.28 197.989 0.097

0.105

1.2051 4.29 1.249

(mm)

cc / co

()

SRCI.1L.2

33.59

34

14

12.88 197.989 0.097

0.131

1.2373 4.29 1.585

SRCI.3L.1

33.59

34

14

13.47 197.989 0.292

0.413

1.4534 4.29 2.093

SRCI.3L.2

33.59

34

14

15.30 197.989 0.292

0.469

1.4713 4.29 1.825

SPCI.1L.1

24.77

34

14

12.23 197.989 0.132

0.169

1.1167 2.17 2.571

SPCI.3L.1

24.77

34

14

13.23 197.989 0.396

0.550

1.2931 2.17 2.788

SRCII.1L.1

52.82

34

14

7.60

197.989 0.061

0.049

1.2009 4.07 1.066

SRCII.1L.2

52.82

34

14

9.53

197.989 0.061

0.061

1.1484 4.07 1.594

SRCII.3L.1

52.82

34

14

11.56 197.989 0.185

0.225

1.2755 4.07 1.909

SRCII.3L.2

52.82

34

14

10.11 197.989 0.185

0.197

1.3406 4.07 1.476

SPCII.1L.1

48.53

34

14

7.34

197.989 0.067

0.051

1.0822 3.38 1.192

SPCII.3L.1

48.53

34

14

9.88

197.989 0.202

0.209

1.2003 3.38 1.988

SRCIII.1L.1

63.79

34

14

5.78

197.989 0.051

0.031

1.1422 3.75 1.026

SRCIII.1L.2

63.79

34

14

5.71

197.989 0.051

0.030

1.2043 3.75 1.037

SRCIII.3L.1

63.79

34

14

7.16

197.989 0.153

0.115

1.2475 3.75 1.338

SRCIII.3L.2

63.79

34

14

8.76

197.989 0.153

0.141

1.2478 3.75 1.402

SPCIII.1L.1

59.53

34

14

3.97

197.989 0.054

0.022

1.0297 3.56 1.036

SPCIII.3L.1

59.53

34

14

6.69

197.989 0.164

0.115

1.1818 3.56 1.387

Table 7. Data and results of CFRP confined square concrete specimens

Circular and Square Concrete Columns Externally Confined by CFRP Composite

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/51589

Based on these observations, the effective equivalent lateral confining pressure f l for square
section, is given by:
-For square section:
fl=

2t frp E frp h ,rup

2b

2t frp E frp ' fu

2b

(16)

-For square section with round corners:

fl=

2t frp E frp h ,rup

2b 2Rc ( 2 1)

2t frp E frp ' fu

2b 2Rc ( 2 1)

(17)

Confinement Effectiveness Coefficient k e

For the determination of the effectiveness factor ke it can be assumed that, in the case of a
circular cross-section, the entire concrete core is effectively confined, while, for the square
section there is a reduction in the effectively confined core that can be assumed, analogously
with the case of concrete core confined by transverse steel stirrups [17], in the form of a sec
ond-degree parabola with an initial tangent slope of 45. For a square section wrapped with
FRP (Figure 16) and with corners rounded with a radius Rc, the parabolic arching action is
again assumed for the concrete core where the confining pressure is fully developed. Unlike
a circular section, for which the concrete core is fully confined, a large part of the cross-sec
tion remains unconfined. Based on this observation, it is possible to obtain the area of un
confined concrete Au, as follows:

Figure 16. Effectivelly confined core for square sections

191

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Fiber Reinforced Polymers - The Technology Applied for Concrete Repair

- For square section:

Au = 4

( b6 ) = 2b3
2

(18)

- For square section with round corners:

Au = 4

( b'6 ) = 2b'3
2

(19)

The confinement effectiveness coefficient ke is given by the ratio of the effective confinement
area Ae to the total area of concrete enclosed by the FRP jacket, Ac, as follows:

ke =

Ae ( Ac Au )
Au
Au
=
=1
=1
Ac
Ac
(Ag As )
Ag (1 sc )

(20)

Where Ag is the gross area of column section, and sc is the cross-sectional area ratio of longi
tudinal steel.
By substituting the expression (18) or (19) into (20), the confinement effectiveness coefficient
ke is therefore given by:
- For square section:

ke = 1

2b 2
3Ag (1 sc )

(21)

2b'2
3Ag (1 sc )

(22)

- For square section with round corners:

ke = 1
Proposed Equation

Base on the linear equation previously proposed by Richart et al. (1929) [22] for uniformly
confined concrete, the proposed model employs similar approach with several modifica
tions accounting for the effect of the shape, effective FRP strain and effective confinement.

Circular and Square Concrete Columns Externally Confined by CFRP Composite

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/51589

The compressive strength of a square FRP-confined concrete column is proposed to be a

simple modification of Equation (7) by the introduction of a confinement effectiveness coef
ficient denoted ke. Thus,
f 'cc
fl
= 1 + k1ke
f 'co
f 'co

(23)

Where kefl /fco is the effective confinement ratio. The coefficient k1 was taken as 1.60, which
was suggested for uniformly confined concrete. Considering the known values of the prod
uct of the parameters k1 and ke as found from expression (23) for the tested columns of this
work, the values of ke were deduced, and were on average equal to 0.36. Finally, the equa
tion proposed for the confined concrete strength is:
f 'cc = f 'co + 0.58 f l

(24)

6.2.2. Axial Strain at Peak Stress

Similarly to the compressive strength, the axial strain at peak stress is proposed to be given
by the following equation in which a different confinement effectiveness coefficient, ke2, is
introduced:

( )

cc
fl
= 2+ k2ke2
co
f 'co

(25)

In Equation (25), fl is the confining pressure in an equivalent circular column given by Equa
tion (16) for square section, while k2 = 5.55 and ke2 = 0,72. The equation proposed for the axial
strain is:
cc = co 2 + 4

( )
fl
f 'co

(26)

6.2.3. Comparison Between Proposed Model and Existing Test Data

Tables 8 and 9 show comparisons between the predictions of the proposed model and the
experimental results collected from other studies [49,50,51,52] for the compressive strength
and the axial strain at peak stress of FRP-confined concrete in square sections. Clearly, the
present model is more accurate in predicting the compressive strength but less accurate in
predicting the axial strain. Accurate predictions of the axial strain are an issue that will re
quire a great deal of further research.

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Fiber Reinforced Polymers - The Technology Applied for Concrete Repair

Specimen

FRP

f'co

code

type

(Mpa) (mm) (Gpa) ()

tfrp

Efrp

fu

Rc

fl

(mm) (mm) (mm)

f'cc

f'cc .tho

(Mpa) (Mpa)

f'cc. tho /
f'cc.exp

Demers and Neale (1994) [49]

-

CFRP

32.3

0.9

25

15.2

152

210.818 2.206

34.1

33.579 0.984

CFRP

42.2

0.9

25

15.2

152

210.818 2.206

45.99

43.479 0.945

CFRP

42.2

0.9

25

15.2

152

210.818 2.206

45.7

43.479 0.951

Lam and Teng (2003b) [51]

S1R15

CFRP

33.7

0.165 257

17.58 150

15

199.705 5.076

35

36.644 1.046

S2R15

CFRP

33.7

0.33

257

17.58 150

15

199.705 10.15

50.4

39.589 0.785

Rochette (1996) [50]

2B

CFRP

42

0.9

82.7

15

152

210.818 7.202

39.4

46.177 1.172

2D1

CFRP

42

0.9

82.7

15

152

25

194.249 7.816

42.1

46.533 1.105

2D2

CFRP

42

0.9

82.7

15

152

25

194.249 7.816

44.1

46.533 1.055

2G1

CFRP

42

0.9

82.7

15

152

38

183.480 8.275

47.3

46.799 0.989

2G2

CFRP

42

0.9

82.7

15

152

38

183.480 8.275

50.4

46.799 0.928

2C

CFRP

43.9

1.5

82.7

15

152

210.818 12.003 44.1

50.862 1.153

2E

CFRP

43.9

1.2

82.7

15

152

25

194.249 10.422 50.8

49.944 0.983

6A

AFRP

43

1.26

13.6

16.9

152

210.818 1.868

50.8

44.083 0.867

6D

AFRP

43

5.04

13.6

16.9

152

210.818 7.472

54.3

47.334 0.871

6E

AFRP

43

1.26

13.6

16.9

152

25

194.249 2.027

51.2

44.175 0.862

6F

AFRP

43

2.52

13.6

16.9

152

25

194.249 4.055

51.2

45.351 0.885

6G

AFRP

43

3.78

13.6

16.9

152

25

194.249 6.082

53.2

46.527 0.874

6H

AFRP

43

5.04

13.6

16.9

152

25

194.249 8.110

55.2

47.703 0.864

6I

AFRP

43

2.52

13.6

16.9

152

38

183.480 4.293

50.9

45.490 0.893

6J

AFRP

43

3.78

13.6

16.9

152

38

183.480 6.439

52.7

46.735 0.886

Benzaid (2010) [52]

P300-R0-1P1

GFRP

54.8

1.04

23.8

21.2

100

141.421 5.046

54.50

57.726 1.059

P300-R0-1P2

GFRP

54.8

1.04

23.8

21.2

100

141.421 5.046

56.60

57.726 1.019

P300-R0-1P3

GFRP

54.8

1.04

23.8

21.2

100

141.421 5.046

57.20

57.726 1.009

P300-R8-1P1

GFRP

54.8

1.04

23.8

21.2

100

134.793 5.294

58.85

57.870 0.983

P300-R16-1P1

GFRP

54.8

1.04

23.8

21.2

100

16

128.166 5.568

60.56

58.029 0.958

Average: 0.966
Standard deviation: 0.097
Coefficient of variation (%): 10.04
Table 8. Performance of proposed model: compressive strength

Circular and Square Concrete Columns Externally Confined by CFRP Composite

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/51589

Specimen

FRP type co

cc ,exp

k2 ke2 cc,theo

cc,theo / cc,exp

code
Demers and Neale (1994) [49]
1

CFRP

0.002

0.004

0.0045

1.136

CFRP

0.002

0.0035

0.0044

1.262

CFRP

0.002

0.0035

0.0044

1.262

Lam and Teng (2003b) [51]

S1R15

CFRP

0.001989 0.004495 4

0.0051

1.151

S2R15

CFRP

0.002

0.0087

0.0064

0.736

Rochette (1996) [50]

2B

CFRP

0.003

0.0069

0.0080

1.167

2D1

CFRP

0.003

0.0094

0.0082

0.875

2D2

CFRP

0.003

0.0089

0.0082

0.925

2G1

CFRP

0.003

0.0108

0.0083

0.774

2G2

CFRP

0.003

0.0116

0.0083

0.721

2C

CFRP

0.003

0.0102

0.0092

0.909

2E

CFRP

0.003

0.0135

0.0088

0.655

6A

AFRP

0.003

0.0106

0.0065

0.615

6D

AFRP

0.003

0.0124

0.0080

0.652

6E

AFRP

0.003

0.0079

0.0065

0.831

6F

AFRP

0.003

0.0097

0.0071

0.735

6G

AFRP

0.003

0.011

0.0076

0.699

6H

AFRP

0.003

0.0126

0.0082

0.655

6I

AFRP

0.003

0.0096

0.0071

0.749

6J

AFRP

0.003

0.0118

0.0077

0.660

Benzaid (2010) [52]

P300-R0-1P1

GFRP

0.0025

0.0088

0.0059

0.672

P300-R0-1P2

GFRP

0.0025

0.0090

0.0059

0.657

P300-R0-1P3

GFRP

0.0025

0.0098

0.0059

0.604

P300-R8-1P1

GFRP

0.0025

0.0091

0.0059

0.655

P300-R16-1P1 GFRP

0.0025

0.0098

0.0060

0.613

Table 9. Performance of proposed model: axial strain

Average:

0.815

Standard deviation:

0.214

Coefficient of variation (%):

26.30

195

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Fiber Reinforced Polymers - The Technology Applied for Concrete Repair

7. Conclusions
The results of this investigation have confirmed previous observations on the efficiency of
confining FRP wraps. More specifically, the following concluding remarks can be made.
It is evident that in all cases the presence of external CFRP jackets increased the mechani
cal properties of PC and RC specimens, in different amount according to the number of
composite layers, the concrete properties and the cross-section shape.
The failure of CFRP wrapped specimens occurred in a sudden and explosive way pre
ceded by typical creeping sounds. For cylindrical specimens, the fiber rupture starts mainly
in their central zone, then propagates towards other sections. Regarding confined concrete
prisms, failure initiated at or near a corner, because of the high stress concentration at these
locations,
CFRP strengthened specimens showed a typical bilinear trend with a transition zone. On
overall, both ultimate compressive strength and ultimate strain are reached at the same
point and are variably enhanced depending on the effect of other parameters.
The efficiency of the CFRP confinement is higher for circular than for square sections, as
expected. The increase of ultimate strength of sharp edged sections is low, although there is
a certain gain of load capacity and of ductility.
The CFRP confinement on low-strength concrete specimens produced higher results in
terms of strength and strains than for high-strength concrete similar specimens. Therefore,
the effect of CFRP confinement on the bearing and deformation capacities decreases with in
creasing concrete strength;
Increasing the amount of CFRP sheets produce an increase in the compressive strength of
the confined column but with a rate lower compared to that of the deformation capacity.
In existing models for FRP-confined concrete, it is commonly assumed that the FRP rup
tures when the hoop stress in the FRP jacket reaches its tensile strength from either flat cou
pon tests which is herein referred to as the FRP material tensile strength. However,
experimental results show that the FRP material tensile strength was not reached at the rup
ture of FRP in FRP-confined concrete and specimens failure occurs before the FRP reached
their ultimate strain capacities. The failure occurs prematurely and the circumferential fail
ure strain was lower than the ultimate strain obtained from standard tensile testing of the
FRP composite. This phenomenon considerably affects the accuracy of the existing models
for FRP-confined concrete. So on the basis of the effective lateral confining pressure of com
posite jacket and the effective circumferential FRP failure strain a new equations were pro
posed to predict the strength of FRP-confined concrete and corresponding strain for each of
the cross section geometry used, circular and square. Further work is required to verify the
applicability of the proposed models over a wider range of geometric and material parame
ters, to improve theirs accuracy (particularly that of the axial strain at peak stress) and to
place theirs on a clear mechanical basis. Both additional tests and theoretical investigation
are needed.

Circular and Square Concrete Columns Externally Confined by CFRP Composite

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/51589

Acknowledgements
Authors thankfully acknowledge the support of Sika France S.A (Saint-Grgoire, Rennes) for
providing the fiber-reinforced polymer materials.

Author details
Riad Benzaid1* and Habib-Abdelhak Mesbah2
*Address all correspondence to: benzaid_riad@yahoo.fr
1 L.G.G., Jijel University- B.P. 98, Cit Ouled Issa, Algeria
2 L.G.C.G.M., INSA of Rennes, France

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